Fr. vănThanh Nguyễn, SVD, professor of New Testament Studies and holder of the Bishop Francis X. Ford, M.M., Chair of Catholic Missiology at Catholic Theological Union, led SCJs in an online Advent Hour of Recollection last Thursday, Dec. 5. His focus was on developing a response to migration based in the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
“By 2050, ethnic minorities in United States will become the majority,” he said. “Demographic shifts will bring challenges for mission and ministry. How should the academic curriculum prepare students for mission and ministry in this new environment?”
The Church too will continue to undergo a significant cultural shift, with the populations of Christians growing in Africa, Asia and Latin America. “People will seek a global perspective as opposed to a European-based view of the Church,” he said, later adding that as people migrate, they bring their culture, customs, beliefs and spirituality.
“God migrates with them,” he said.
The face of the priesthood and religious life is changing. Leadership of the Church needs to be formed with greater competency in intercultural knowledge. In the midst of a world struggling with anti-immigrant attitudes, or simply fear of the other, Fr. vănThanh emphasized that Dehonian spirituality is an ideal response to the moment.
“Your founder’s vision continues to contribute to the global Church,” he said. “To be ‘prophets of love and servants of reconciliation’ – that is exactly how we should respond to this moment…
“Mercy, compassion and love. Show that and live the gospel.”
